Basingstoke
[key], city, Hampshire, S central England, on the North Downs. Formerly a
market town trading in silk and woolens, it has developed several
industries, including the manufacture of agricultural machinery, precision
tools and instruments, leather, clothing, and drugs. The city is growing
rapidly, largely because of a population overspill from London. In 871,
Alfred defeated the
Danes at nearby Basing; in 1645 Oliver Cromwell won a victory there.
Basingstoke is mentioned as a royal manor in the Domesday Book.
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